


False Is Thy Tongue

by GersemiSigríðr (FosterofTerror)



Category: Norse Religion & Lore, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Child Death, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mouth Sewn Shut, Odin's A+ Parenting, fluff?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-05
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-28 11:44:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/991629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FosterofTerror/pseuds/GersemiSigr%C3%AD%C3%B0r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Threatening to be punished by torture, Loki can think of only one way out. When an opportunity arises and an unknown person helps him escape Asgard, Loki finds himself in the hands of one of his worst enemies, Tony Stark. Eventual FrostIron?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fararleyfi

**Author's Note:**

> I've never EVER let anyone read my fanfics before so I'm taking a big chance here. If people actually read it (which I doubt), I'll attempt to keep updating regularly. Please don't be too harsh as this is my first try at putting my work out there. :) 
> 
> The first part is short but that may change.
> 
> It takes place not long after the Avengers. The title is a line spoken by Freyja to Loki from the Lokasenna poem of the Poetic Edda.

It was very damp and it was extremely cold but that was barely the worst part. Loki had been locked in a dark Asgardian prison cell, on display for anyone to mock him. The small, dismal cell left barely any room for a bed and the stone walls and floor made the space seem even tinier. A thick, glass wall separated him from his freedom. He spent most days sitting on the uncomfortable bed, the chained shackles on his wrists preventing any movement around the cell. The tight metal restraints dug into his pale flesh even when he wasn't mobile. 

For the first few weeks, Thor would show up every day at the glass wall and try to communicate with him. Loki would just stay seated with his chained hands in his lap and his head hanging low. He couldn't even look at Thor anymore; he felt truly ashamed for the first time in his life.  
One day, as he dreadfully awaited for Thor’s daily visit, an unfamiliar silhouette approached the glass. He looked up to find one of the metal clad guards walking towards him while another stayed close behind. 

“We have orders to take you to the main room of the palace,” he said flatly. 

Confused as Loki was, he didn't show it as he casually shook his head and looked away. He didn't plan on fighting with them but he also didn't plan to go willingly. They would have to take him by force.

“I guess you didn't hear me,” the guard loudly demanded as he unlocked the large, metal door built into one of the stone walls. 

The other guard followed him into the cell and they stood on either side of the God. The first one held his arms while the other quickly unlocked the shackles with a clank. They grabbed him under the arms and forced him to stand up without opposition. The first guard locked a more mobile set of shackles on Loki’s wrists behind his back and they led him out of the cell. 

He dragged his feet as they firmly gripped under his arms and walked him briskly down the marble floor. The end of the long hall opened up into the great room of the palace where various assemblies were usually held. Here was where the Allfather’s throne stood; everything was glistening and gold. Odin sat upon his golden throne while Frigga stood just to the right of him. Thor was off to her right with the warriors three and Sif close by. A few random guards stood to the left of the throne, two of them had Loki’s son, Narfi, kneeling on the floor in front of them in the same kind of bonds as his father. A medium sized, grey wolf sat facing the guards, his stare unfaltering from the boy on the floor.  
When Loki saw this, his heart sank, unsure of what they were to do to his son, not knowing the wolf was his other son, Vali. His face remained set in stone but his mind couldn't stop going over everything that could happen momentarily. 

“Loki,” Odin boomed calmly, his face remaining expressionless, “the evidence has been reviewed in the death of Balder.” There was a short pause. “You stand guilty.”

Loki furrowed his eyebrows; the grandiosity of the battle in New York eclipsed everything he had done in the past and he had almost forgotten about the single act of murder he had committed. Once he had recalled those events, he smiled coyly; he never thought it would take this long for them to realize it was him. 

Odin continued, “Since you are already serving time for your Midgardian rampage, we have chosen a different sentence for you.”

Oh great, Loki thought, Odin was known for being a ruthless judge and even more ruthless when it came to punishments. This wasn’t good.

“Before we go any farther, the first of your punishments shall be handed down to you. Guards?” 

The two men holding on to Loki brutally forced him to the ground on his back while one of the others near Odin approached. Loki squirmed and thrashed, trying to free himself from their grip, to no avail. They held his head straight as the other guard leaned down holding a thick needle threaded with a dark black leather chord.  
Loki’s eyes widened as the sudden realization of what was happening hit him. In one quick flick of the wrist, the guard poked the needle into Loki’s bottom lip then again through the top one and pulled the thread taut. 

The pain only enraged Loki more but his body was betraying him. His traitorous eyes filled with tears that soon ran down the sides of his pale face. He tried to blink them away as the last stitch was tied but it only spread the tears more. They pulled him back up into a kneeling position, blood still dripping out of the fresh stitching. 

“Now, since you cannot use your silver tongue to talk your way out of this, we move on to the next part.”

Loki pledged at that point that he was going to make Odin pay for this. No one puts the Liesmith through this kind of physical pain without consequences, not even the Allfather.  
Odin motioned with one hand to the wolf that had been sitting still the whole time. It stood up and Loki could swear it bowed to the King before lurching forward toward Narfi. What happened next was something Loki wished he didn't have to see. The wolf gnawed at Narfi’s abdomen as he screamed in pain. Loki writhed in the guards’ arms, trying to help his defenseless son. 

It didn't take long for Narfi to suddenly become eerily silent as the wolf ripped his innards out in one forceful pull. The guards holding him released their grip and his lifeless body slumped to the floor. When the deed was done, the wolf ran off and out of sight. The tears in Loki’s eyes began to pour out once again. Wrath and sorrow ripped simultaneously through his entire body as it decided if it wanted to collapse in heartbreak or explode in ferocity. 

His wet eyes met Thor’s who look horrified at what had just happened. If it was an act or not, Loki did not know and hadn't the strength to figure it out. 

Odin spoke again, “Take the entrails to the boulders, we will tie him up in due time.”

Loki knew that he meant him and that they were finally going to torture him as a punishment. Only the worst criminals on Asgard were sent to be tortured; it had happened very rarely. Wasn’t it torture enough to watch his son die right in front of him? Odin was a cruel man when he wanted to be.

“Loki, you will be strung up on several boulders by the entrails of your son. You will be placed under a snake whose venom will drip upon you. Only Ragnarok will free you from this punishment.”

Odin’s voice never wavered as he said these words; his speech gave no hint of emotion for his adopted son or the fact that he just had an innocent boy murdered. 

Loki was now silently weeping with his head hanging down and his black stringy hair covering his face. He hated to show such weakness but there was only so much of a façade he could put on. There was no way he would allow them to tie him to those boulders and degrade him in that way; he had enough of that while in the cell. With his magic stripped of him though, his chances of escaping were slim to none. 

The same guard that sewed his lips approached again holding out a long sword in front of him. Loki knew it was just another precaution to prevent him from doing anything stupid but it just added to the explosion of emotions he was feeling. 

The guards pulled him up to a standing position and briefly let go, readying to take him to punishment already. If he was going to do something rash, he had to do it before they grabbed onto him again. 

With a sudden lapse of judgment and an unplanned death wish, Loki ran toward the guard holding the sword, only stopping when the weapon reemerged out of his back.  
The sword had pierced about an inch above his navel and went straight through his abdomen, the pointed end still sticking out of the flesh. Before the excruciating pain set in, his body went limp, only being propped up by the sword. 

No one in the room knew what to do, not even Odin. None of them could have predicted that this confident god would resort to suicide to escape their arrangements.  
The guard yanked the bloody sword out and Loki fell to his knees, still mostly conscious and grimacing as the blood poured out of the two wounds. The room fell silent as they watched to see what would happen to him next, still unsure if they should help him. 

As if a gift from some unknown force, a sudden, massive explosion erupted in one of the vast gardens surrounding the palace. Everyone in the room, save for one guard, rushed to the area to see what had happened. 

A very disoriented Loki knew this was his opportunity to escape, but he had to do it with his hands tied behind his back, without being able to speak, with no magic, and with a gaping hole in his abdomen. Just his luck.

The guard stood next to him, his knees almost at the heights of Loki’s head. This was his chance to fight back. He swung his head around and clocked the guard in the back of the knee, immediately sending him down to the floor in almost the same kneeling position as his prisoner. 

With all of the force he could muster, Loki powerfully head butted the guard’s unprotected temple. The man was immediately knocked out cold. Loki struggled to lift himself off the ground and look for an escape. He knew of many passages out of Asgard but he would have to be quick and nearly unseen. 

With the wound now throbbing, he started to wish he had waited a few minutes before deciding to injure himself that badly. Had he known a diversion would have presented itself, he wouldn't have needed to impale himself.

He took one last loving look at his son’s body and ran across the palace and out onto the opposite garden. His wound hurt like hell and running didn't help the bleeding but he had to continue. Thankfully, the explosion had come from one on the other sides of the building so none of the preoccupied people would see him. 

Running until his legs burned and the impaled skin went numb, he finally reached the secluded forest where his only chance of running away lie. A passageway between realms sat hidden behind some brush, needing only a quick spoken spell to take the traveler to another plane. 

There was one major problem with his not so brilliant escape plan, he couldn't speak the words with his mouth still sewn shut, and there was no way to free himself from the metal shackles. 

Feeling utterly defeated and exhausted, he slid down onto the floor in front of the entrance and hoped no one would find him there. Before he knew it, he was out like a light; whether from blood loss or mental exhaustion, he didn't care. He was just happy to sleep somewhere other than that uncomfortable cell.


	2. Lið

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went over this chapter at least five times to make sure it all sounded good and I still don't like it haha. I'm still surprised I've gotten so many views and kudos on my crappy writing that I thought no one would read. Thanks!

While Loki slept, a nervous looking teenage boy came out from behind a tree where he had been hiding. The boy was tall for his age, with medium length brown hair and light green eyes. He gingerly picked the god up and while speaking the correct words, walked through the passage. With a quick flash, they were in a different world, softly landing on a hard concrete surface in a busy area.

The boy didn't know it at the time but he had landed in New York City. The way the people walking past him looked indicated that he had to be in Midgard. He looked up at the tall, shining building in front of him and seemed to recognize it. He may be an Asgardian, but he and Heimdall got along very well and the gatekeeper would tell stories of what was happening in other realms. 

He had heard this building described before with it's odd shape and large marquee of the word STARK near the top. It must have been fixed, he thought, since he knew the STRK were knocked off during the battle. He soon realized that it was the central point where Loki had been fighting last time he was in Midgard. The boy knew in order to travel through the passage that you had to concentrate on where to land but this was the last place he had been thinking of. The only explanation he could conjure was that Loki must have been dreaming of the last battle he had fought and his memories were so strong that the passage automatically took them there. 

It was a bad idea even being here in public and he knew it. If he wanted a chance to help Loki, though, he had hoped one of the Avengers, as Thor called them, would at lease recognize him and know not to take him to a doctor. Or they would take him to the authorities. Either way, he’d be off Asgard and free from their unique brand of torture.

He quickly ducked into the parking garage entrance, hoping no one would see him or confront him. The only way this could work was if he left Loki there and then returned to Asgard; only Heimdall would know what happened and hopefully keep it to himself. Probably not. 

The boy didn't want to deal with Midgardians since he had never conversed with them before and knew not how. He found a clean spot in the garage and set Loki down gently. He propped his body up against the wall then vanished out into the crowd and back to Asgard. 

**********

An alarm rang throughout the lab inside Stark Tower until Tony couldn't stand it anymore. 

“What is it Jarvis?” he asked, annoyed.

“Sir, facial recognition has picked up on the signature of Mr. Laufeyson.”

Tony stopped in his tracks; a twinge of anxiety froze him in his spot. He glanced at the newest version of his Iron Man suit, trying to deciding if he should put it on yet. 

“Where is he?” He finally asked the AI in the ceiling.

“Parking garage, sir.”

“MY parking garage?!”

“Yes.”

“Son of a bitch, is he trying to take down the tower from the base? I think I should go advise him that it won’t work.”

“Sir, he was dropped off by an unknown person. He is unconscious and seems to be injured. Security is down there now, what orders should I give them?”

Tony thought for a whole two seconds, “lock him up in the basement, I’ll be down in a few.”

Just when he was starting to think the containment cells in the basement were useless, he finally gets to try them out. 

“As you wish, sir.” 

The security guards roughly lifted Loki and dragged him into the building. They could see the blood on his shirt and face but didn't know the severity of his injuries. It wasn't their job to care about that anyway. With a crude push they locked him in the cell, a crumpled pile of god in a ball on the concrete floor. 

Tony took his time riding the elevator and making the walk down to the cells on the lower floor. Two security guards greeted him in front of Loki’s cell; Tony thought it was a good thing that they seemed relaxed and at ease in the presence of such an unbalanced man. 

“Thanks boys, I’ll take it from here,” he told the two men who weren't much younger than him.

They left Tony alone as he got his first glimpse of Loki since the battle of New York. He had a different outfit on than the usual overabundance of metal and leather he wore in combat. He still had black leather pants on but they were plain, with no special plating or designs. He wore a dark green, long sleeve shirt on his torso and a strange sleeveless long jacket type thing over that. Black boots on his feet rounded out the strange and now wrinkled outfit. 

His black hair had grown a bit and was now lying haphazardly all over his head; Tony couldn't even see his face. He thought he could see a crimson spot here or there on his clothes but he couldn't be entirely certain in the low light. 

“Hey sleeping beauty, wake up!”

Tony watched as the god’s body didn't react to his voice. He didn't want to actually go into the cell and rouse him but he needed answers before deciding to call SHIELD to haul his ass out of his life.

“Loki!” he yelled as a last ditch effort to wake him.

A few seconds passed before Loki’s body began to stir. There wasn’t much he could do as his hands were still tethered behind his back. He pushed himself onto his back and flipped his hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head. His face reflected insurmountable pain and it made Tony uncomfortable.

Stark could now see that it was in fact his own blood on his clothes and not just a few spatters like he had thought. As he moved closer to the bars, the black thread closing Loki’s lips caught Tony’s attention and he made a revolted face.

Loki’s eyes wandered frantically around the room, taking in this new environment with apprehension. The hole in his stomach felt worse than it had right after it had been created and his lips were starting to itch.

“What the hell happened to you?” Tony asked himself out loud. 

Loki’s striking green eyes shot to look at the billionaire’s face, not knowing what to do. He squirmed his body backward, trying to get as far away from him as he could.

“Well, I see you can’t talk, so I guess that’s at least a semi improvement from last time. And you’re tied up, even better for when I call SHIELD and have them take you away.”

Loki’s eyes widened and he anxiously shook his head, hating that he couldn't speak up for himself. Nick Fury was almost as brutal as Odin when it came to punishments. Even though it was against his nature, he wanted nothing more than to beg Stark to do anything but send him to SHIELD, anything. 

“Oh? You don’t want to go to SHIELD? Well, too bad, I didn't want to be thrown out of a window but that didn't stop you did it?”

There was absolutely nothing Loki could do to convince Tony to just let him explain. He didn't ask to be here in the presence of one of his enemies, heck, he didn't even know how he got there. 

Although it hurt, he moved his mouth as much as he could, trying to signal that he had something to say. He knew Tony would get the hint but he had many doubts that he would just ignore it. 

Tony did in fact know what Loki was silently asking and mulled over the consequences in his head if he tried to help and things went amiss. Still, there was the burning question of why he was brought here and what happened to him. 

“I know I'm going to regret this, Jarvis unlock the cell.”

With a click, the modern bars slid to the side, allowing Tony entrance. He pulled a pocket knife from the back of his belt and unfolded the blade.

Loki watched in horror, thinking that he was going to hurt him more than he had already been. He knelt down next to the detained man and roughly grabbed the hair near the top of his head. As he pulled his head back with his hair, he placed the blade in front of Loki’s face. Tony liked that the tables had turned and he was able to feel in control of him unlike their last encounter. 

To Loki’s surprise, Tony placed the end of the blade between two of the stitches on his lips and severed the leather cord. The rest of the removal involved just pulling the cord out of the holes. Tony knew he could have caused less pain by cutting all of the stitches but he definitely liked doing it this way more.

When he was done, he released his grip of Loki’s hair but left the knife in his right hand, just in case he needed to defend himself.

“So let me ask again, what happened to you and why are you here?”

Loki smirked, knowing this considerably increased his chances of not being returned to Asgard or taken to SHIELD. 

“It’s a long story,” he rasped out.

“I have all the time in the world.”

Loki sighed, and started to tell the story of only the events that had just happened on Asgard. He wasn't going to let the mortal know more than he needed. 

“The Allfather had me removed from my cell and sewed my lips shut as punishment for an older crime I had committed. They had planned to tie me up and physically torture me.” He grimaced from a sudden pain in his gut. 

“They played the cheap card and took something very close to me to prove a point. I was…mentally compromised and not thinking clearly when I…” his voice trailed off.

“Who did you kill this time?” Tony asked with sarcasm, trying to mask that he really didn't want to know.

“Surprisingly, no one,” Loki smiled, “But I attempted to impale myself upon a sword that a guard had threatened me with. That’s where all of the blood is from.”

The words seem to hit Tony like a truck. “What did they do to you that made you try to kill yourself?” 

“I do not wish to talk about it while it is still fresh in my mind.”

“Okay then, so why did you come here?” Tony asked again, changing the subject quickly for fear of the ramifications. 

“That I don’t know. A series of distractions allowed me to escape the Allfather but I had no way of gaining passage out of Asgard.”

“Well, someone left you here in my building.”

“What?” Loki's expression changed, “What did this person look like?” 

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the security footage yet. Can you think of who it might have been?”

“I haven’t a clue…I wish they had taken me elsewhere, though.”

“Oh? You don’t like spending quality time with me?”

Loki shot him a rage filled look. “I haven’t the strength to properly deal with your sarcasm at the moment, Stark.”

“Well, excuse me,” Tony joked and got up off the floor, “I’m going to go call SHIELD before you kill me or something.”

“Even if I had the ability to at this time, my wounds greatly restrict my mobility and it would be impossible. Please don’t call them.”

Maybe he wouldn't call them yet; he liked having Loki's fate in his hands. What he liked even more was the vast amount of leverage he had over him.


	3. Leita

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost gave up on this story a bunch of times but whatever. I'd definitely rather read fanfics than write them haha. 
> 
> Things in italics are thoughts.

Back on Asgard, the group of deities and guards continued to scope out the gardens for the source of the explosion. Odin was getting increasingly impatient because none of them could find any evidence pointing to the blast. 

“Magic,” he bitterly whispered under his breath. He knew the lack of any shrapnel meant it had to be done by someone with magical abilities. “Back to the hall, our search is useless now.”

They all slowly returned to the expansive room they had left Loki and the guard in. The guard on the floor was just starting to stir awake from his unplanned unconsciousness. 

“What happened to Loki?!” Thor asked, his voice echoing off the high ceilings.

The guard took a few moments to collect himself, “He...he attacked me....”

Odin responded before Thor could, “How is that possible? He was restrained and severely injured!”

The man just shook his head, trying to remember what had happened, “He used his head to knock me down then again to knock me out.”

Scoffing, Odin turned and walked over to his throne. “Search every inch of Asgard, he couldn't have gotten very far in his state.” 

The surrounding gaggle of guards nodded then split up to start their search. Thor didn't show it to anyone but he had hoped they didn't find Loki. His punishment for escaping would be even worse than any other dangers he could face in the Nine Realms and he couldn't bear to see that happen. 

“I will help them search,” he said to Odin and retreated before he could get a response. 

 

**********

 

A few hours later, the guards slowly began returning to the main hall. Thor was the last to arrive.

“I'm afraid none of us could find him,” he said, regretfully. 

Odin continued to sit stoically on his throne, “then he must be on another realm,” he said, never even slightly expecting that his first born was betraying him. “Thor, you have the most knowledge of Migard so I want you to search there. I will assign the rest of you one of the other seven realms.” 

Thor was confident that Loki couldn't have made it as far as Earth; that required the magic and ability that he didn't currently have. Heimdall knew of Loki's imprisonment and would have never let him through the Bifrost but maybe he knew where Loki was. It couldn't hurt to ask before going to Midgard.

Thor nodded toward his father and made the trek across the bridge to where the gatekeeper stood. “Heimdall, have you seen Loki anywhere on Asgard?” 

He spoke slowly, “I have...but he is here no longer.”

“Well, where is he then?”

After a long pause, “Midgard.”

“And why did you not tell the Allfather of this when you saw him escape?” Thor asked, trying to cover up that he didn't want Loki to be found.

“I did not think he would get far with his injuries, I had figured he would be easy to find no matter where he got to. And why did you not search for him when you were commanded to?” Heimdall replied without changing his tone.

Thor was taken aback by this sudden change of conversation; he sometimes forget how much Heimdall could really see. “Just, open the Bifrost to Midgard and I will get him.”

Heimdall put the sword in the slot as the crackling and light started. The Bifrost opened up and with a flash of light, sending Thor flying across space and down toward the Earth.

The beam of light deposited him in a darkened but familiar area. It was night and the rain poured down around him. A fortuitous storm seemed to have masked the sound and light caused by the transportation. 

He looked around to find trees, grass, and pavement surrounding him; it seemed to be a park. The unique, sculptured fountain to his left clicked in his mind. He was in Central Park, the last place he had been on Earth before returning to Asgard. It wasn't a bad place to start, but would Loki really return to a place he nearly destroyed?

It would take years to search the whole planet and the chances of locating him would be slim. There was only one person he knew how to find that might be able to aid him but he would rather face a bilgeshnipe than have to get help from Tony Stark. 

He looked up into the sky to see which direction it looked brightest on this stormy night. He knew Stark Tower gave off the most light of any of the skyscrapers because, well it was Tony, he liked to be radiant in everything. He headed south, hoping to see the immense skyscraper. 

It didn't take long for the tower with the newly fixed “STARK” marquee illuminated near the top to come into view. A multitude of stares greeted him upon entering the automatic sliding doors into the lobby. Even at night, the place was bustling. 

“I wish to speak to Tony Stark,” Thor said a little too loudly to the receptionist. 

“Is this some kind of prank?” she questioned, eyeing Thor's Asgardian garb over her reading glasses.

Thor raised an eyebrow, “I do not prank. I need to have urgent words with Stark.”

“Well, you need to make an appointment, if you're being serious.”

“I haven't the time,” he said and started taking long, heavy strides over to the elevator area. 

The very patient women just rolled her eyes and got security on the phone. This action in turn caused Jarvis to automatically alert Tony of the assumed danger. 

Down in the cell, Loki didn't appreciate the AI's disembodied voice coming from everywhere and scooted back farther into the corner.

“Send the live footage to my phone.” Tony demanded. 

“Right away, sir,” Jarvis answered.

The security camera facing the hallway near the elevators showed a certain, agitated god checking all of the doors he came across. Of course they were locked for a reason. 

Tony looked up at Loki, trying not to signal that anything was wrong, “I'll be back.”

He jogged to the elevator and frantically pushed the 'up' arrow until the doors opened. The few second ride felt like an hour as he scrambled to clear his thoughts. The right thing to do would be to just hand Loki over to Thor and be done with him, again. On the other hand, the usually confident, insane god of mischief had actually been so afraid of what his people were going to do to him, that he would've rather died. Decisions would be the demise of Tony.

The elevator pinged and he jumped out, trying to get to Thor before security could. That wouldn't be pretty for anyone, especially his building that he finally just had completely repaired. 

He ran down the hall and around the corner, finally coming to a stop where Thor was pacing near the public bathrooms. 

Completely out of shape, Tony spoke between heavy breaths, “Hey point break, fancy seeing you here.” He really needed to work on his British accent.

“I require your assistant, Stark. May we speak somewhere more private?”

“Sure, whatever,” he said and led Thor back up the hallway in a hurry. 

He unlocked one of the doors and guided the god of thunder into a conference room with a massive wooden table surrounded by rolling chairs in the center. 

“Loki has escaped Asgard and is gravely injured.”

 _I know._ “How did that possibly happen?” Tony was good at bullshitting when he had to.

Thor lowered his head and spoke more softly, “A series of diversions and then the rest I do not know.”

“Hmmm, so you think I can magically find him somehow? How do you know he's even here?”

“He was seen fleeing to this realm. I was hoping you could use your technology to scan Midgard for him.” 

“I appreciate that you think that's possible, I really do, but I can't help ya there big fellow. My scanners only go so far and I only have them docked in two locations at the moment.” _Keep stalling._ “I probably won't be able to find anything but it doesn't hurt to try them out if you want to. Let's go up to the workshop.” 

With that statement, he realized he was starting to see Loki's side even if it went against everyone he knew. His decision compromised pretty much everything, including his life among many others. He wouldn't let Loki go back to the same people who sewed his lips shut; not even the annoying god of mischief deserved that.


	4. Geigr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters are always short, whoops. I fixed some dumb errors I made in the other chapters and one large continuity error haha. It may be a while before I update again, I have a bad case of writer's block. :/

With Tony gone to who knows where, Loki contemplated trying to get away. It wouldn't be as simple as escaping Asgard because of the different kinds of unfamiliar security in the building but Stark was most likely going to get SHIELD as he waited there, anyway.

No, he couldn't do it again. He had already used any energy he had left to prop himself up in the corner of the cell. His body wouldn't work even if he tried; everything ached.

Maybe staying in the cell could be beneficial. There was no doubt that the Asgardians would be trying to find him. If Tony could keep his mouth shut, which was highly unlikely, the cell was an ideal hiding spot. None of the Asgardians would think to look for him at a building owned by someone he tried to kill.

As he saw it, there were two things that could happen, be discovered by the Asgardians or be handed over to SHIELD. Both were equally dreadful and would presumably involve some kind of punishment. Regrettably, the choice was out of his hands.

 

**********

 

Up in the workshop, Tony was humoring Thor and getting his scanners ready. All he had to do was pretend to run the scans and then conveniently not find anything. Thor wouldn't suspect a thing and then continue on searching, he hoped.

Tony pulled up a screen in front of him and seemed to prepare the search. Thor just watched as Tony worked, forever hopeful he'd be able to find Loki. 

After about ten minutes of faking it, Tony finally spoke, “Sorry buddy, but there's no sign of him on here. He could be anywhere but he's definitely not here or in the Los Angeles area.” 

Thor frowned, “thank you, Stark.” He seemed hesitant to continue, “I admit, I came down to help him, not to return him to Asgard. I had hoped to locate him rather quickly and assist him in finding a place to hide. I do not think the Allfather was fair with him and I do not blame him for escaping. I will check back in at some point to see if he has popped up.”

Tony was a second away from spilling the beans on Loki but stopped himself just in time. He knew Thor was most likely telling the truth but he couldn't risk it. Loki would detonate if he saw anyone from Asgard currently.

“Alright, I hope you can find him,” he lied and guided Thor out the door.

They silently rode the elevator down to the lobby. “Thank you again,” was all the god said before exiting the elevator.

Tony simply waved and tried not to look impatient as he pressed the basement button. He didn't know what he was going to do; Loki couldn't stay at the tower if Thor was going to come back. Why did he always get himself into these ridiculous problems?

He trudged into the cell area to find Loki sitting up against the wall and obviously in pain. He considered telling him about Thor right off the bat but decided against it.

“So, what am I supposed to do with you now?”

Loki's emerald eyes squinted into slits at the man in front of him. “If you're going to call SHIELD, just get it over with.” He knew it would come to this sooner or later.

“Hold up there, Reindeer Games, you're getting ahead of yourself-”

“Are you saying you're not going to call them? If that's the case, release me.” In an unusual move, Loki spoke without thinking; he knew Stark Tower was the best place to hide.

“You know I can't do that. You won't get very far in your current state and...” he couldn't keep the truth about his brother a secret for long, “someone you really don't want to see is out there searching for you.”

Loki's posture changed, “What?”

“Thor was here looking for you, that's why I had to leave. He was causing a commotion in the lobby.”

“Of course he was,” Loki smirked while trying not to seem worried, “why did you not give up my location? I'm sure he would be more than ecstatic to drag me back to the Allfather.”

“He wasn't like that at all. He said he was hoping to find you so he could help you hide. His sincerity seemed genuine so I'm sure he wasn't lying.”

“What makes you think I'll believe that? YOU could be the one lying.”

“Listen, I get that you're not exactly trustworthy of, well, anyone and you've been deceived in the past. I'd like to think I've seen a glimpse of what you've been through and I can assure you I'm not going to speak falsely.” Maybe by communicating more like how Loki spoke, Tony could get the point across faster.

The god just furrowed his eyebrows and painfully shifted in his spot on the floor. The mortal knew nothing of what he had weathered on Asgard and with the Chitauri.

“I diverted him away but I can probably get him back here if I wanted.” Yeah, threatening might be a better way to go. “Now, I won't get Thor or SHIELD to take you away, YET, but that could change at anytime, got it?”

“You just said you are not releasing me, so what plans have you for me?”

It was a bit embarrassing for him to admit, “I haven't figured that part out yet, but for now you're staying in there.”

Loki quietly chuckled and looked away, even with the mental pain of losing his son and the physical pain of his lunatic act, things weren't completely deplorable. “Can you at least remove the shackles?”

“Not even in your dreams. I've seen what you can do with magic and I'd rather not experience that again.”

“If I were in possession of magic, don't you think I would be able to remove them myself?”

He did have a point, but there was always a possibility that anything he said could be purposefully deceitful. Tony kept his guard up but played along. “Now, why don't I believe you? Maybe you already got out of them and you're waiting to ambush me.”

An annoyed sigh escaped the god's lips. “I do not appreciate you making false assumptions of me,” he snarled, “were I not incapacitated, I would...I...” the increased agitation irritated his substantial laceration as he grimaced and lowered his head onto his chest.

Tony hesitated to do or say anything because he still didn't a hundred percent believe what Loki was saying or doing. He watched as the man began to compose himself and look back up toward him.

Loki spoke softly this time, “I am not lying, Stark. I am just trying to hide and not get any more injured in the process. I have no means nor reason to harm you...at the moment. I cannot promise that I will remain that way, but you have my word that I am not going to do anything to you if you release my wrists from these shackles.”

Tony snickered as he shook his head, “I know I shouldn't and I'm going to really regret this at some point but...” he sighed, “fine, I'll do it but now you owe me one, Rock of Ages. I have run to the workshop to get to get some tools since I don't know what kind of metal it is and I don't exactly have any Asgardian skeleton keys hanging around.”

Loki nodded and noticeably relaxed his body as Tony exited the area once again. There could be no misbehaving if he wanted to gain the mortal's trust. That would be the easiest way to get everything he desired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting this on a sort of hiatus until I can get motivated again.


	5. Sjálfráðr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this a while ago and didn't even edit this chapter. It's super short because I have permanent writer's block it seems.

With multiple lock picking tools and the small first aid kid from the workshop tucked under his arms, Tony made his way back to the basement. Loki hadn't moved at all from the cement floor. Tony re-entered the cell and sat on the cold ground next to the god, dropping the tools and box into the floor. His face contorted into different states of confusion while he inspected the intricate handcuffs. 

“Uhhh, what the hell?” he thought out loud.

Loki responded barely audibly, “is there a problem?”

“What? No, of course not, don't I look like I know what I'm doing?” 

“Oh yes, because you haven't even picked up one of the tools you fetched.”

“Shut up, I'm trying to figure this out.”

“You'll never be able to get them off with any of those instruments.”

Tony threw his arms up in frustration, “you could have told me that before I went all the way up there to get them.”

“I had assumed you would have more technologically advanced ways to free me than simple lock picking tools. You have a great fortune, do you not? There must be something better you can use.”

“Fine, I'll be back, AGAIN,” he announced and left the cell. 

*****

In an even worse mood than he already was, Tony returned with a device that looked like some kind of wireless soldering iron. A thick brown glove covered the hand he was holding the strange instrument in. Conveniently, he had designed it to be wireless and run on a charge that came directly from the arc reactor just under that floor. 

Loki smirked as Tony returned to his spot on the floor. He guided Loki's arms away from the back of his body and spread them as far as they could go until the chain was taut. 

“Don't move a muscle unless you want to lose a hand or two.”

“Is that a threat?” Loki asked, smiling.

“It can be, now just hold still.”

He slowly squeezed the button on the underside of the handle and out of the nozzle came a brief, bright stream of a hot material. Loki's eyes widened when he caught sight of it.

“It's just a plasma cutter; I don't know what kind of metal these shackles are and this thing can cut through almost anything.”

He moved in closer to his working space and maneuvered the torch between Loki's arms. Pointing the device toward the chains with his right hand and holding one of the man's arms with his left, he squeezed the trigger. The ray of plasma shot out and slowly began to wear away at the chains. It only took two minutes to completely cut through the metal and free Loki's hands from each other. He pulled them forward and frowned while looking at them. Tony hadn't been able to get the actual shackles off, all he did was separate the chain connecting them. 

“Yeahh, I don't know how to get those off without severely burning you so you'll just have to deal with them.”

The god sighed, “Typical. But I...I do appreciate having my hands free. Uhh, thank you.”

Gratitude was gratitude, even if it was from a stammering, insincere murderer. Tony put the cutter down and took off the glove to now tend to Loki's wound. It didn't seem to have been bothering him at all while Tony worked on the chains. 

He opened up the small first aid kit and ripped open one of the gauze pads he had found, “will you cut MY hand off if I put this on your stomach to try and stop the bleeding?”

“Try it and find out,” he smirked.

“Uhh here, maybe you should do it,” Tony said and handed over the gauze.

Loki gingerly placed it against the wound, expecting it to be soaked in just a few seconds. Pulling it back, he could see that it was surprisingly covered in only a few dots of blood. 

“It seems the bleeding has been somewhat quelled naturally.”

“It's healing already?” Tony asked while picking up the tools from the floor.

“Barely, but enough to stop bleeding.”

“That was astoundingly fast.”

“Maybe for a mortal, which I am not.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Tony responded sarcastically, “you should get that stitched up before it starts bleeding again.”

Loki scoffed, “That won't be necessary, covering it should be enough.”

“Suit yourself,” Tony said and threw more wrapped gauze and medical tape at the god.

Now scowling, Loki unwrapped the gauze pads and carefully taped a few over the wound on his abdomen while Tony tried not to watch. It's not that he was squeamish he just didn't want to make Loki feel any more uncomfortable than he probably already felt. A pissed off, homicidal god is not something Tony wanted to have to face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't get any more content out of myself for this story but I'm not completely giving up yet. I'm taking a long break with it until I either decide to just forget about it or until I can get out of this horrible writer's block I have.


	6. Nauð

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a quicker hiatus than I expected.

A day had passed before Tony decided to crawl out of his darkened workshop to check on his prisoner. Everything in the tower was quiet for the almost twenty four hours that Tony was hidden away, toying with different parts of his newest suit. He didn't know what else to do while he tried to decide how to deal with Loki except to hide somewhere quiet where he could actually think straight. 

He entered the basement cells to find Loki asleep on the uncomfortable metal bed against the far wall. Tony's mind started to work swiftly as he questioned if Loki was actually asleep or just faking it. Maybe he was dead; that would save him the trouble and stress that was already starting to manifest. 

Leaning on the bars, Tony spoke loudly, “He's in here, Thor.”

He could barely keep himself from loudly cackling as the god woke up so promptly, he nearly rolled right off the bed. With his straggly, black hair all over the place and his eyes still foggy, he scanned the room while he sat up. 

“You did not...” he hissed, panic in his eyes.

“No,” he laughed, “I didn't get Thor, I just wanted to ruffle your feathers a bit.”

Loki grimaced but gradually relaxed himself from the nonexistent threat, “Stark, you are an asshole.”

Tony's mouth stretched into a huge smile, “So I've heard.”

Sighing and rubbing his abdomen, the imprisoned god was drained from being on high alert all of the time. The strain of being jailed on Asgard and not knowing what was going to be done to him took a toll on his mind and body. The slumber he had just awoken from was the first deep sleep he had gotten in months. Although he wouldn't admit it, he felt safer where he was at the moment than anywhere on Asgard. 

“So, since you claim you aren't going to hand me over to Shield or get Thor to take me back to Asgard, have you decided when you're going to release me yet?”

“Don't get ahead of yourself, you know I wouldn't just let you out of here to go back into the city you tried to destroy.”

“Why must everyone constantly harp on my misdeeds of the past? I may have been the face of that invasion, but regrettably, I was not the mastermind behind it.”

With that, Tony's mood did a complete one eighty from the playful joking he had performed only moments before. 

“You sure seemed like you were the architect of that battle. If it wasn't you who started the whole thing, who did?”

Loki knew he shouldn't have opened his mouth about it, humans just love to poke around everyone else's business. He couldn't tell Tony who was actually to blame, he couldn't tell a soul, ever. He wanted so badly to tell someone, anyone, about what had really happened but that would spell immense trouble for him. Also, he truly didn't know who he had dealt with before the invasion. He never got to see the real leader of the Chitauri, just a powerful middle man who relayed messages and instructed him what to do. 

“I..I'm not entirely sure who it was exactly but...”

Tony had heard enough, “No, you don't get to make excuses for your senseless mistakes. It may make you feel better to convince yourself and everyone you know that your mistakes aren't your fault but when you have to face reality, it all comes crashing down on you.”

Loki would've argued with him but it would be no use without the proof that he lacked.

He instead calmly responded, “you speak as if you know from experience.”

“We're not talking about me right now, this is all about you, just the way you like it.”

The last thing he needed was someone like Loki knowing too much info about his life that could be used against him in the future.

“I assume that's fair, but know that I can speak the truth. Not every word out of my mouth is a lie.”

Tony was mentally trying to calm down; he wasn't sure why he had gotten irritated so quickly but it probably had to do with a severe lack of sleep. 

“Alright, well I think it would be best for both of us if we can get Thor back here to take you somewhere far away from me.”

Loki just shook his head and placed his face into his palms. If Stark had been truthful about what Thor had said, this could be a good thing. If it was all a ploy, he was as good as dead. He had to say something; he needed to try to stop it. 

He picked his head up after thinking for a moment and grinned toward his captor, “how will you get him back here? You have no way to contact him.”

Loki sat up a little straighter, his usual confident smirk had returned.

“He said he'd be back at some point to check in on things. We'll just have to wait until that happens.”

“Great,” Loki sighed, “I'll just lie here until he shows up sometime in the next year.”

He laid back down on the bed and turned on his side so he was facing the cement wall of the cell.

“Okay,” Tony said flatly before heading out and to the elevator, “he's more dramatic than I am.”

*****

After a few days of finally getting some sleep and randomly checking the cell security footage to make sure the jailed liesmith wasn't up to anything, Tony went back down to his workshop to spend a lengthy amount of time working on perfecting his suit, for the sixth time. He wasn't at all worried about Loki escaping because without magic and with the exceptional security system that was JARVIS, there wasn't much he could do. 

He spent a good deal of the time with his welding visor on; this time he was attaching some new armor to a piece of one of his older suits. The bright white light from the soldering gun hypnotized the still sleep deprived mechanic. It wasn't until he felt uncomfortably like someone was closely scrutinizing him that he stopped and flipped up the visor. He didn't immediately look up for fear of what he might face. 

As slowly as he could, he straightened his back and turned around to face the other side of the room, soldering iron raised slightly in front of him. No one was there to greet him and relief flowed through his body as he came to the realization that it was all in his mind. 

A satisfied sigh escaped his mouth as he turned back to his work. 

"I wouldn't relax so soon, Stark," a soft and serene voice said from behind the work table.

Tony froze in his spot, shocked and speechless as to how and why his injured detainee was standing free in front of him.


End file.
